I tried to ask this within an existing topic and then also started a new topic, but no response and it is a Plex problem about which I’d appreciate some answers. Since I am a PlexPass holder and it is the DVR beta I am using, I asked there and now here. Hopefully I can get a response from a ‘Plexpert’, i.e. support employee.
I set up several Music libraries with from 1,000 to 20,000 tracks in each, but although it looked good on the surface, I then noticed that about 5% of all the artists have had their Sort Artist tag data overwritten with the Artist tag data. So e.g. David Gilmour’s music files are set with their Sort Artist tags to Gilmour, David and Artist tags to David Gilmour. But after setting up the Plex library and finding David Gilmour is sorted under ‘D’, I checked and both the Artist AND the Sort Artist fields are the same “David Gilmour”. So sorting in all the music libraries is somewhat screwed and since the actual music files have it all EXACTLY correct, I can only assume this is a PMS issue. During import it has copied the Artist tag data to the Sort Artist tag/field, overriding/ignoring what was already there (from the file tag).
I cannot see any logic behind this. Why has it made this mistake on some Artist’s but not others? I can only surmise there is some sort of bug involved.
I thought there would be a way to raise a ‘ticket’ with support about something like this, but there doesn’t seem to be a way to do that. So I have to ask here - again. Why has the import done this and how can I fix it and prevent it from occurring again?
If there’s a better place to post this, please let me know, I’m running out of ideas.
Are you using exclusively mp3 files or do you have other file formats in your collection?
The reason I’m asking is this:
It might be, that the ‘Sort’ meta tags are not imported from all possible file formats.
If it so happened, that the first track which was scanned by Plex was in a file format from where Plex could not read the ‘sort’ metatags, then Plex put the default ‘sort’ value in its database.
All the other files which were scanned afterwards would not overwrite the ‘sort artist’ database entry, since it has already been created.
So e.g. for any one artist, if the first file imported was a format from which Plex could not read the Sort tag and hence used the regular Artist tag, then all subsequent files for that artist would also end up with the same duplicate data in both tags, even if the later ones were a format from which Plex CAN read Sort tags? Ok, I see that, but …
I am pretty sure I only have MP3, which can certainly be read by Plex, all tags, since I cannot believe there could be a problem with the standard files that defined the tags, or they are AAC/M4A files, encoded by iTunes and I would also be VERY surprised if Plex could not read the Sort tags from an AAC file. I have no, or at least I am unaware of having any Flac, ogg vorbis or Apple lossless or any other type.
However, it is a very interesting idea. I will have a look at some that imported OK and also some that failed and see if I can see a pattern related to this. Since I have quite a few that were imported into multiple libraries (aren’t symlinks wonderful:-) I will need to check if the errors always occur in all libraries in which they exist. If not, then it would suggest a random error on the part of Plex, but if it always occurs in every library, then it rather suggests something about those files that causes the problem.
I’ll look at it all again, but any other comments?
Looks like you are right and I was wrong in my assumption that Plex would be able to read MP3 tags.
First of all, Plex appears to deal with tags in AAC/M4A files perfectly, as it also seems to do with MP3s with ID3v2.3 (and possibly 2.4, but I don’t think I had any). BUT, it does have a problem with MP3 files with ID3v2.2 (and probably earlier) tags.
I think my best bet will be to delete these Libraries and import again - AFTER I change all MP3 tags to at least 2.3. However, it’s a step that really should not be necessary. A music server that can’t read ID3v2.2 tags? Really?
OK, to be fair, it can read some of the tags. It’s the TSOP and TSOA (Sort Artist and Album respectively) that it struggles with. But still, rather disappointing.
Anyway, thanks Otto for pointing me in the right direction. Hopefully this is not something I can deal with, even if it takes the time to set it all up again.
Here’s another quick question. If I change the tag version of those files and ‘Refresh’ in Plex, will it re-read the new tags and update its database with the new correct data? Or do I really have to delete and re-create all the libraries?
@UKenGB said:
Here’s another quick question. If I change the tag version of those files and ‘Refresh’ in Plex, will it re-read the new tags and update its database with the new correct data? Or do I really have to delete and re-create all the libraries?
I don’t know this offhand for the ‘sort order’ tags.
I know it is not necessary for the ‘date’ tag.
But it is necessary for tags which influence library structure, like Artist, album artist, album title, disc number…
It is called the Plex Dance (with music, you can omit step 4)
